Gratefulness Matters

R _ _T C_N_L

Fill in the words with two “o”s and two “a”s and you have the two dreaded words.

(Maybe I ought to go buy some lottery tickets filled with twos.)

Yesterday I jokingly told the receptionist this that I was going to write a blog post about this and entitle it How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Well here it is, without that title.

A few weeks back I went and had my fangs spiffied up by a fabulous dental hygienist. We had as pleasant a visit as two human beings can have when one has her her hand inside of the other one’s mouth. All seemed to be going so well until the dentist took a look at the x-rays and announced that I needed one, maybe two or three, root canals. My day took a turn for the worse!

Don’t those two words just sound like they should never be in the same sentence?

Regardless, the kind receptionist made an appointment for me at an endodonist’s office and I went on my not so merry way. A few hours later I was telling one of my nearest and dearest friends and without skipping a beat she said, “You want to see Dr. X. Him and no one else!” Since she has been a hygienist for decades I decided to follow her sage wisdom. Canceled appt. with first doc and made appt. with my friendgirl’s suggestion.

I arrived at my appointment and was greeted by a very friendly receptionist. Once seated in the chair where the dreaded procedure would take place I tried to be my very friendliest. I asked both of them if they were having a good day. Both assured me they were. It turns out that the endodontist was just coming back from vacation so I figured he was relaxed and happy. Always a good thing when someone is jabbing around in your mouth with sharp instruments, drills and other devious tools of torture.

While even I can’t believe I asked him how it felt to be in a profession where people weren’t all that thrilled about coming to see you but leaving glad that they did, I found it impressive that he handled my question with grace and aplomb. He responded that people often came in more enthusiastically (my word) than I would think because they were in pain and he could relieve that. So true. We talked further and found out we both grew up in the mitten state so I thought that might be to my advantage.

The area was numbed (and I couldn’t talk anymore, which I’m sure made him happy). Forty five minutes later I was out the door. No pain except for the fact that I needed one more appointment for a tooth on the other side. A cancelation had just come in so I was able to make an appointment for today. Yippee. The receptionist did offer an appointment in a week or two but I did not want to stew about this for seven more days.

Back I went today. Same doc, same dental assistant, same room. I told them that I had absolutely no pain and that I was hoping for the same treatment. I also asked if permission to snap a picture of the tools of terror. Just made that up. I also suggested to the dental assistant that they cover the tray for the squeamish of needles platoon.

Before the procedure began I asked the endodontist if I may ask him a question or two about his training. He said yes and so I asked him how left handed people learn to do this stuff. This was a question I had come up with yesterday. Do they try and find left handed instructors? Is there different equipment? He patiently answered my questions and then we all had a laugh as it wasn’t until that moment that I became aware that HE is left-handed. Crazy, huh?

I am grateful this is behind me. Today’s procedure took twice as long. Apparently it was much more challenging.

On Thursday, which of course will be Thankful Thursday, I will tell you some of the reasons why I am thankful for all of this.

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About

I’m Cindi. I read. I write. I am crazy about my family, friends and faith. I sing poorly, laugh loudly and ask questions. A lot of questions. I'll listen to your answers and then ask more questions. Thank you for stopping by.